The Twelve (or more) Days of Christmas

Well, our Christmas break began with wondering if Young Man would EVER EVER get home. He did. Finally.

As per our tradition we open our gifts to each other over a period of days BEFORE Christmas. Perhaps this sounds silly, but for us it allows time to enjoy gifts, to not have the "gimme more gifts" syndrome and for Christmas to focus on... well, Christ, of course.

Our first gift from Senior Son was small and squishy. Dear opened it and we saw SS's grade sheet from this semester. A perfect string of A's and to boot his writing teacher has talked to him about getting his writing published in the school journal. Too cool!

On Christmas Day we began with a leisurely breakfast of strata and coffee cake and fruit. Mostly a tradition, although I've been told they want sticky buns (monkey bread) rather than my coffee cake. Boo hoo! Our day was spent as a family and it was very sweet. Later we went to Bob's house for dinner. He supplied the food and Senior Son cooked an incredible meal: roast leg of lamb Greek style (1/2 c. of minced garlic for 13 lbs. of meat!), Italian green beans and garlic/ranch mashed potatoes. Bob supplied a nice bottle of Soft Red from a local winery and I brought desserts.

Senior Son and Bob discuss the roast.


Very simple ingredients to dress up these legs of lamb. (We didn't tell Wee One it was lamb... just a roast. We thought she might get upset. Later after she ate the meal and liked it Bob started chanting "Baa baa black sheep." Followed by, "I LOVE lamb!" That Bob! He has in interesting sense of humor! :~)


Does it really call for 1/2 cup of garlic? Bob thinks so!

And here he goes... For those who might have wondered... YES, he really did cook the entire meal! And set the table.

This was where it got interesting. You see you have to "make the meat happy" as Emeril would say... that is... you have to rub the garlic, oregano and oil all over the roasts. YUMMO! (to quote another TV cook)

And here we all are: Left to right: MMH, Wee One, Young Man, Dear, Bob's Friend (what IS his name?!), Senior Son and Bob.

Now, for those who know Bob you know that you can't always understand him the first time. But, when I asked what I could bring he said, clear as a bell, "Mincemeat." Drats! I understood it. No excuses. I tried again... "Hey Bob, for those who don't want mincemeat, how about another option?" Again, clear as a bell, "PUMPKIN." Yep, Bob LOVES his pie. So, then I just told him I'd also bring something chocolate for those of us who don't enjoy pie. Let's just say we all had a feast. Our family, Bob, and his friend who was visiting and later on Ben joined us for dessert.

Over the next few days we all tried to relax while getting ready for the next round. Monday found us traveling 2 hours south to Dear's folks where we met up with his siblings and their families. Dear's folks recently downsized to a 3 bedroom condo from their home of over 40 years. So, you can imagine our surprise when they managed to have all 8 grandkids, one foreign exchange student, Martha and her husband and two dogs spend the nights there. WOW! Dear and I, and his brother and his wife were booked at a nearby hotel. YEAH! I hear the kids were up LATE playing games each night. Glad to see them enjoy each other so much as the ages range from 10-28!
Left to right: John, Becca, Sarah, MMH, Senior Son, Young Man, InSeop. Front Row: Wee One with Buddy, Stephen

Hmmm... there was more to this post. Where did it go?
Let's see... New Year's Eve with The Moore's ... which meant lots of food and Texas Hold 'em Poker (it's a tradition), Laura beat us all. But David won twice in a rematch on Saturday night.

New Year's Day... Donut Day here... it's the one day a year I make donuts from scratch... we're not talking fried biscuits folks! Word has gotten out and there were 11 kids at our breakfast table and 5 plates/orders to deliver around town.

Sunday found me with a bad back, pleurisy, and missed church.

Monday found me at the doctor's office as Dear and Wee One were worried. Home with meds. Guess who's allergic to them? A dose of Benadryl found my hands back to normal, my neck stopped itching and my lips settled down also. Now better and the girls are back to school. Boys are on break till next week.

How was your Christmas break?

Blessings, Kim

p.s. please take a peek at my Etsy listings. I have some new ones up and am happy to do special orders. Also, for those in town I don't charge shipping.